Wetenschap

Nature, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02263-4

Nature staff discuss the discovery of a four carbon ‘true sugar’ in interstellar space — plus, a formula inscribed on a wall reveals a Maya mathematician’s name.

Nature, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02193-1

Electrodes that measure brain waves and more cannot be seen or felt.

Nature, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02264-3

Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

Nature, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02218-9

Astronomers are deeply worried that a planned array of 50,000 mirror-bearing satellites in orbit will severely compromise telescopes.

Nature, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02200-5

Astronomers have spotted helium escaping from LHS 1140b, an exoplanet orbiting in its star’s ‘habitable zone’.

A large laboratory study found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria. Researchers identified more than 100 cases in which sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or flavorings. The combination of isosteviol and the antidepressant duloxetine was especially disruptive, reducing beneficial bacteria and overall microbial diversity.

A new particle detector called PLATON could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material. Using a light-field camera, highly sensitive photon sensors, and AI, it reconstructs particle paths in fast, detailed 3D. Simulations suggest it could match or surpass today’s best detectors while being far easier to scale. The technology may also lead to sharper PET medical scans.

A drug originally developed for spinal cord injury may offer a fresh approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease. In mouse studies, KCL-286 repaired dangerous DNA damage, reduced inflammation, and targeted multiple disease-related pathways instead of focusing on just amyloid or tau. Since it has already cleared an initial human safety trial, researchers believe it could move more quickly into Alzheimer’s clinical testing.

Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated. The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-use plastic waste.

A new experimental treatment may have found a way to outsmart glioblastoma’s toughest defense: the blood-brain barrier. Researchers used sugar-coated nanoparticles to ferry genetic instructions that restore a key tumor-suppressing protein directly into brain cancer cells. In mouse studies, the therapy increased median survival by 50% while shrinking tumors without noticeable damage to other organs.

Paleontologists in China have discovered what they say is the earliest confirmed pieces of amber ever found, a fossilized resin roughly 385 million years old (Middle Devonian epoch) that predates the previous record-holder by about 65 million years.

The post 385-Million-Year-Old Amber Found in China appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Using spectral data from the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, astronomers detected helium escaping from LHS 1140b, a rocky exoplanet that orbits in the habitable zone of the nearby low-mass star LHS 1140.

The post Potential Atmosphere Detected on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet LHS 1140b appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

A new analysis suggests the four sub-Earth exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s star -- the Sun’s nearest single-star neighbor -- are likely packed with the deep-Earth mineral periclase, stripped of their atmospheres and far too hostile to support life.

The post Barnard’s Star Planetary System May Be Filled with Water-Poor Rocky Worlds appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Researchers have identified and formally described a new species of the African monkey genus Colobus living in the remote interior of the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking only the fifth new monkey species found on the continent in the past 75 years.

The post Scientists Discover New Monkey Species in Democratic Republic of Congo appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Thousands of fossilized bones from a Cretaceous-period bonebed in Wyoming, the United States, offer rare physical evidence that Tyrannosaurus rex fed on the carcasses of a duck-billed dinosaur species called Edmontosaurus annectens.

The post Tyrannosaurus rex Scavenged Duck-Billed Dinosaurs in Ancient Wyoming, Bite Marks Reveal appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

“Non-award” notices discontinue grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality whose annual funds had been stalled

Youlin Chen analyzed earthquake data that can also aid nuclear-test monitoring

Some countries face reductions of more than 90%, new report reveals, raising fears of devastating impacts on global health and education

Staffers complain that Salk allowed circadian rhythms researcher Satchidananda Panda to depart quietly, while the allegations and findings remain under wraps

First drug to lower the protein and slow cognitive decline creates buzz despite puzzling data

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr has suggested that antidepressants are more addictive than heroin and may contribute to school shootings—allegations repeatedly rejected as false. Given this history, the announcement in May, 2026 of a new Make America Healthy Again Action Plan to Curb Psychiatric Overprescribing was met with alarm in many health circles. HHS officials have stressed that they aim to address “overmedicalization”, not ban certain antidepressants altogether, with a focus on reducing long-term medication use when no longer beneficial in improving patient outcomes.

The PARTNERS trial will test treatments for the infection in trying circumstances. Talha Burki reports.

4 years of full-scale conflict will have a lasting effect on the country's children, despite efforts to continue health services. Rebecca Sers reports.

Type 1 diabetes researcher Anette Ziegler has never believed the word impossible. Important steps in her career have been driven by a spirit of opening new paths and constantly pushing beyond established boundaries. Today she is the Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research at Helmholtz Centre Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, and full professor and Chair in Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes at the Technical University Hospital, Munich (TUM Klinikum), Munich, Germany.

A physician reviews a note generated by artificial intelligence (AI) from her morning clinic. The patient, a woman in her fifties with type 2 diabetes, had spent much of the consultation describing her husband's worsening dementia, her exhaustion from caregiving, and her fears about the future. Almost in passing, she mentioned that she had stopped taking her metformin because the pharmacy had changed the brand and she was not sure it was the same medication. The AI had listened to everything. Its note read: “Discussed glycaemic control.

A new study by a University of Florida sport management professor and colleagues challenges long-held assumptions about how young athletes should train and suggests that Major League Baseball teams might be missing players with a competitive edge.

When researchers screen potential tuberculosis drugs, they often end up with too many options. Some look promising but later prove to be costly dead ends. "We might get thousands of compounds from a screen and then have to decide which one are we going to work on?" said James Sacchettini, Ph.D., the Rodger J. Wolfe-Welch Foundation Chair in Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist and professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry.

Medicinal plants have long been a cornerstone of Philippine traditional medicine, dating back generations. Tawa-tawa, a low-growing herb that thrives in open grasslands, is a valued supplementary treatment for dengue; the gel of the succulent aloe vera can help soothe a scraped knee; boiled guava leaves help disinfect wounds; tea from yerba buena helps relieve minor aches and pains; and ampalaya helps manage diabetes.

The collapse of a landmark Amazon soy pact will drive at least 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of extra deforestation in Brazil over the next decade, releasing carbon emissions equal to Canada's annual output, according to an analysis published Thursday.

Mass shooting incidents and car crashes may seem like two unrelated incidents, but a recent study has uncovered that there might be an unexpected link. Every year, more than a hundred mass shootings take place across the United States, many leaving behind four or more lives lost. In the aftermath, the tragedy quickly spreads across every avenue of media, from newspaper headlines and TV news to social media feeds and even online searches. This constant stream of coverage can leave people feeling anxious, distracted, and emotionally overwhelmed.

Parasite-induced cases of explosive diarrhea are sweeping the United States. Containing the outbreak won’t be easy.

The lab-made cells open a window into what’s possible for synthetic life, researchers say.

Biological anthropologist Fatimah Jackson is leading an effort to prevent history from repeating.

Solve the math puzzle from our August 2026 issue, in which a family investigates an odd happening.

Analysis of six mummies from ancient Egypt challenges the idea that the bows and daggers buried with some royal women were merely ceremonial.